LLHS grad, coach Mike Chambers honored by New Mexico Activities Association

ALBUQUERQUE — Los Lunas High School graduate and former LLHS coach and administrator Mike Chambers will be inducted into the New Mexico Activities Association Hall of Fame.

“I’m tickled to death,” said Chambers, who was LLHS salutatorian in 1973 and later returned to Los Lunas Schools as a teacher, principal and athletic director. “To be recognized in this way is just beyond what I could hope for.”

During his high school days, Chambers, 70, excelled in track and basketball for the Tigers, and went on to run track at Western New Mexico University. Following college, Chambers taught for two years in Clifton, Ariz., before returning to LLHS as a teacher and coach.

“I kind of got started coaching in volleyball,” he said. “I never had any intentions of that at all, but found that I really liked it.”

Chambers’ time at LLS lasted 13 years and morphed into administrative roles, including vice principal and athletic director.

“We had a coaching staff there that got along extremely well, all helped each other out,” Chambers remembers. “We were just a tight knit group.”

An administrative career, as Chambers noted, often means you “bounce around from place to place.”

That took Chambers to principal and superintendent positions in San Jon, Kirtland Central, Zuni, Grants and Magdalena.

It was in those locales that Chambers began closely working with the NMAA in various roles. Those included a long stint as district chairperson, a member of the NMAA executive board and a representative on numerous committees.

Chambers is now retired as an educator, living in Grants and working in the private sector.

“It made me very happy, very proud,” Chambers said of his reaction when notified of the honor after his long association with the NMAA. “To have it culminate and be recognized in this way is just beyond what I could hope for.”

The Class of 2026 includes Chambers and Dana Pappas, a former NMAA deputy director who currently works for the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS). Both will be enshrined on March 12 at the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid.